Indiana University signee Christian Watford had 26 points and seven rebounds for the Gold team, which edged the Black 151-145. / By Michael Hayman, The Courier-Journal

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The Wazoo Sports Derby Festival Classic is meant to be a Louisville and Kentucky sort of showcase, a chance for red- and blue-clad fans to cheer -- and boo -- the basketball Cardinals and Wildcats of tomorrow.

Last night some future Hoosiers stole the show.

Indiana University signees Christian Watford and Maurice Creek combined to score 47 points for the Gold team in a 151-145 victory over the Black in front of 13,111 fans in Freedom Hall.

"We planned on doing that, showing the UK fans and Louisville fans what we have," said Creek, a 6-foot-5 shooting guard from Temple Hills, Md., who scored 21 points and grabbed six rebounds.

Cards and Cats fans got an eyeful of IU's hoop future, but they also got a sneak peak at what's to come in red and blue.

U of L signee Peyton Siva, a 6-0 point guard from Seattle, was named the Black team MVP for a 15-point, 11-assist performance. Another future Cardinal, power forward Rakeem Buckles, had a team-high 26 points and six rebounds for the Black.

For the Gold, UK signee Jon Hood had 13 points, five rebounds and four assists. Daniel Orton -- a center from Oklahoma City who signed with UK but might shop around now that Billy Gillispie is out and John Calipari is in as head coach -- added 12 points, a game-high 12 rebounds and six assists.

"I don't know when I'm going to decide," Orton said. "I have no time period. It's been frustrating trying to figure everything out."

Hood, meanwhile, said after the game that he's "100 percent" committed to UK, just two days after saying that sticking with the Cats was "95 percent" likely.

"Something happened," he said. "I can't tell you what."

Last night was supposed to be a chance for the future Cats to get a sense of the UK-U of L rivalry. Instead, Hood was fielding questions about a different UK rival after IU signees Creek, Watford and Jordan Hulls -- who scored six points in the game and won the three-point shootout at halftime -- turned heads with their play.

"I've played with Christian for a while, and he's always been able to flat fill it up," Hood said. "Christian can shoot with the best of them, he can drive with the best of them and he's about as strong as anybody on the court, pound for pound."

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Though Florida State signee Michael Snaer -- who scored a game-high 30 points -- was named the Gold team's MVP, Watford had as many jaw-dropping plays as anyone else on the court.

The performances by Watford and Creek are a sign of hope for IU fans who endured a 6-25 season under first-year coach Tom Crean. The Hoosiers have a recruiting class ranked 11th by Scout.com, which rates Watford, Creek, Hulls and Derek Elston -- a power forward from Tipton, Ind., who didn't play in last night's game -- as four-star players.

"I think we're going to make a great impact right away," Watford said. "With Coach Crean behind us pushing us to the limit, I think we'll be pretty good. We're bringing in athletes. I think we'll be able to play his style of basketball, as he played at Marquette."

The future Hoosiers showed some speed last night -- and a touch of style, too.

During the player introductions, as UK and U of L fans screamed their approval of their own signees and booed those headed for their rivals, Creek drew some ire of his own by waving a crimson IU flag as he bounced onto the court.

It was a taste of premediated Hoosier hysteria in an event typically centered on Kentucky's basketball powerhouses, prompted by Creek, who bought his prop -- and got a taste of the commonwealth's distaste for his future team -- yesterday afternoon.

"I went and bought it and waved it around at the mall a little bit," he said. "Got booed a little bit at the mall."